Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado made a brutal mistake in Sunday’s loss to the Titans that he’ll likely never forget. Thankfully for him, right after the play one of his teammates had his back and immedaitely delivered a powerful message to the 26-year-old.
dark. Sign Up. SI NFL Newsletter. Get MMQB’s Free Newsletter
In case you missed it, Demercado was about to cross the goal line for a 71-yard touchdown run when he dropped the ball too early and had it bounce out of the end zone for what ended up being a touchback for the Titans. The score would have been huge for the Cardinals, as it would have given them a 28-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Titans were able to rally and get a 22-21 win on the road.
While Demercado’s coach was seen yelling at him on the sidelines, Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. went up to his teammate and tried to lift his spirits.
“I was just reminding him that he is a professional and he has made a lot of explosive plays for us and to not let that moment affect him,” Johnson said. “Because there could have come a time where we needed him to make a play like that again. Then is not the time to come over to him and ra-ra him and get on him. That’s not what he needs. That’s not what anybody needs in a situation like that. We all have extremely high standards for ourselves and the way we play. I wanted to be one of the first people to find him on the sideline and tell him ‘hey, wipe it off and let’s keep going. Wipe it off and keep going.’ So I just wanted to make sure he heard that from somebody up front and he’s not catching looks and stares and people mumbling… I didn’t want him to hear any of that, be around any of that. I didn’t want to create that energy around him.
Here’s Johnson talking about that after the game:
Paris Johnson Jr. came over to console Emari Demercado right after his costly fumble at the goal line:
“I wanted to be one of the first people to find him on the sideline…Make sure he’s not catching looks and stares and people mumbling…I didn’t want him to hear any of that.” https://t.co/z3VsDonIBs pic.twitter.com/ia6yWWqQAc
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) October 6, 2025
That’s a great teammate right there. Many fans agreed.
Talk about a teammate! https://t.co/7TRVDhzsQg
— Coach K (@coachkat_) October 6, 2025
This is what leadership looks like 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/jCqaWbuJSY
— Qmelo (@AQfresh) October 6, 2025
Paris has been a great leader for the Cards, loved how he’s operated as a genuine human since the day he got drafted
Was very shocked he wasn’t named a captain this year https://t.co/g3L7Vy1NNb
— 🎥Aidan🏈 (@realballknwer) October 6, 2025
Paris Johnson is the definition of a leader. Quietly having a pro bowl season and almost singlehanded carrying this whole OL. Grateful to have Paris here 🤞 https://t.co/LDD5hseG28
— K1SinceDay1 (@KSzn2021) October 6, 2025
Great teammate. https://t.co/fO6esN3XtE
— Rip Reek 🕊👼🏾 (@_FarrellBoydSr) October 6, 2025
I aspire to carry myself in such a manner as this gentleman does. https://t.co/8AawiHaZ4v
— Cash (@CashMagicc) October 6, 2025
The Cardinals, who fell to 2-3 with the loss, will look to bounce back this coming Sunday when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts.
